Cynical Monda

* Item: Joe Pavelski slips, gives up the puck in the Sharks zone, leading to Brad Richards’ game-tying, momentum-driving goal in Dallas’ 5-2 victory in Game 2 yesterday.

Sharks go down 0-2, leading me to cull the media guide to find out that they’re 1-6 all-time in second-round series. (8-3 in the first round.) How interesting.

–My cynical take: Yeah, sure, it’s the ice’s fault. Hate when that happens. Especially in Game 2 of the second round in the third period when the Sharks are leading 2-1 and the Stars don’t seem to be falling and certainly not Richards, Modano, Morrow or Ribeiro or when any Dallas player is under pressure and…

Not that Pavelski–who I think has been playing great all playoffs (until then)–or any of the Sharks players (or the Sharks announcers) were doing public excuse-making.

But sure enough, we’re hearing that they privately complain about the mushiness of the surface at HP Pavilion.

For me, with my vast hockey knowledge that is so often pointed out on this and any blog that exists in the known Puck Universe, Pavelski’s slip is a perfect metaphor: The Sharks lose their legs in the second round.

I don’t know why. I’m sure they don’t know why. Many Canadian writers suggest the Sharks don’t have the intestinal fortitude to withstand the normal Stanley Cup playoff adversities…